Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on STZ. UBS Group cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.05.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

STZ stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $184.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,839,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,211,230. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.91. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $176.51 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $227.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,172 shares of company stock worth $16,778,841 over the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STZ. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,717,000 after buying an additional 72,637 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,374,000 after buying an additional 45,707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.